Wooding, Chris. Velocity.

Wooding, Chris. Velocity. Scholastic Press      2017  325p  $18.99  Hardback  ISBN 978-0-545-94494-6    ms/hs  Adventure  E-BN         

Cassica and Shiara live in the boonies in a time after a terrible global war.  They spend their free time racing.  Cassie is the fearless, reckless, decisive driver.  Shiara is her mechanic, who can build working vehicles from scrap and calculate winning strategies.  Together they make a great team, in spite of and because of their differences.
 

After winning a dangerous local race, they attract the attention of a promoter who wants them to participate in a national event.  The girls are considered underdogs but the crowd loves their gutsy determination.
 

There are exciting race sequences in which the girls manage to survive somehow in a world where forces are out to specifically destroy them.  The friendship is sorely tested but wins out in the end.  The girls discover that the deck was stacked against them from the beginning, and the glamorous world of racing is crooked and not what the projected image shows.

Velocity is a wonderful story of friendship that survives challenges and tests, set among exciting action scenes that include highly imaginative and dangerous threats to the girls. Readers in grades 7 and up will be drawn into this explosive world.      It would be an excellent purchase for middle- and high-school libraries, because of the exciting adventure and riviting action.

Summary: Set in the future after a global war, this is a story of ultimate car racing and the friendship between two teen girls.  It features exciting action-filled racing sequences with imaginative villains.  Grades 7 up.

Automobile racing-Fiction                                         --Joan Theal

Smokin’ Open-Wheel Race Cars.

Egan, Erin.  Smokin’ Open-Wheel Race Cars.  Enslow/Speeding Star  2013  48p   $13.95  ISBN 978-1-62285-100-3  elem/ms      series: Fast Wheels  Sports  VG-BN 

Open-wheeled cars, their drivers, and the races they compete in are profiled.  All aspects of open-wheeled racing are described, including  the history, types of cars and tracks, strategies, and popular drivers. Illustrations are plentiful and add to the understanding of this style of racing.  A common theme throughout the book is the efforts to make the sport safer.  This book, and the rest of the series, is sure to engage young racing fans.  There is a great amount of detail in each chapter, clearly describing how the cars work and why the tracks are designed the way they are, so even the non-racing fan can understand the subject.  There are some sidebars that highlight specific pieces of equipment or historical moments.   A glossary, section on additional reading, and index are included.  Grades 4-9.     Fast Wheels is an engaging series for young automotive fans.

Summary: Open-wheeled cars, their drivers, and the races they compete in are profiled, including the history, types of cars and tracks, strategies, and popular drivers. 

Automobiles, Automobile racing                        --Stephanie Pennucci